After 30 years of serving the Key Biscayne area as a firefighter, ladder truck driver and paramedic, Leah Fraley decided it was time to reveal some secrets — not literally, of course.
“Not many people knew that I used to be a cheerleader (at Lely High School in Naples),” she said, “but I didn’t really want people to know.”
Leah Flurry and her coworkers celebrating her retirement.
Trading her pom-poms for firefighting gear was the perfect career choice, and her compassionate and caring style of treating people and rescuing cats, dogs, snakes, raccoons and even birds has had many in the village rooting for her.
“She was wonderful,” said Michelle Estevez, who was on the panel that interviewed the original firefighters before Key Biscayne Fire and Rescue Department officially opened in 1994. “She was an incredible person, always had the biggest smile on her face. She loved her job… She was a really good policewoman and very well respected.”
“As a Key Biscayne resident, we are so fortunate to have her serve our village.”
Fire and Rescue Chief Eric Lang was similarly impressed.
“She’s really been an integral part of our fire department. She was one of the first three people to join the department,” he said. “I think it’s really important to have women working in the fire department. They bring a unique perspective to a male-dominated industry. As a firefighter and paramedic, she brought a lot of compassion and care. She’s also a mother, so she brings all of that to her role.”
“And she made an amazing carrot cake.”
“I don’t have a lot of fear.”
Born in Chicago, raised in Naples (across from Alligator Alley) and settling in Plantation (Broward County), Fraley first worked for the Key Biscayne Recreation Department with his college friend and boss, Florida State University alumnus Laurie Tesler.
“I started working there in 1992, right after the recreation department was formed,” recalled Fraley. “We operated out of the old Key Biscayne Bank building (near the current police station). At the time, the (volunteer) fire department operated out of trailers.”
“But we started our recreation department with tours and Easter egg hunts. Everything we did, we learned as we went along. But we had our first bus tours, so we really pushed for recreation, which residents said was missing here. We didn’t have a pool, we didn’t have community center facilities, we didn’t have a gym. We had camping out at Calusa Park. Everything was makeshift.”
Leah Flurry and her coworkers celebrating her retirement.
As the village began to incorporate, officials formed an official fire department, and that’s when Fraley and Tesler started working out in a gym in the back of the original “fire station” trailer. Soon, (first chiefs) Bill Huddleston and John Gilbert were putting them through the kind of fitness training that firefighters do.
Tesler decided to move to Colorado, but instead of transitioning into a leadership role recreationally, Fraley enjoyed the camaraderie of being a firefighter, and over the next six months she attended the City of Miami Fire Academy and became a certified EMT.
“Thankfully, I’m not that scared,” she said, noting that the “unknowns” of being a rookie give me a bit of an advantage when it comes to dealing with a crisis when it happens. “I was put in a lot of different fire situations (during my training), some of them in confined spaces, so it really tests you.”
Lang said he adapted perfectly.
“She knows this community so well. She knew all the players beforehand, which has added a lot of value over the years.”
Carrot cake, part of “The Last Shift”
There were some funny moments along the way, with “funny, unique calls,” Flurry said, recalling when she had to lift a ladder to rescue someone’s macaw, but there were also a lot of distress calls that she found “emotionally taxing” and that only a good night’s sleep could heal.
“All of the calls I’ve had have been handled very well and I’ve never had an incident that caused me any concern,” she said.
Staying up to date on firefighting technology, such as ladder trucks and ambulances, was crucial during her time off, and she also passed the annual stress test and military-style “75 Hard Challenge” that the fire department conducts twice a day.
“Dieting isn’t much fun,” she said.
A portion of the cake served at Leah Flurry’s retirement celebration.
At one point in her career, she even had a Dalmatian dog named “Pierce,” after the company that makes fire trucks.
At her “last shift” ceremony, Frari was honored with “numerous gifts,” including a neatly folded flag that had once flown over the station, a partially bronze fire axe, and her badge (No. 9756).
And, of course, there was carrot cake.
“I think people were wondering if I was going to make one more dish at the end,” she said with a laugh. “I did. I love to cook, and I love making desserts, cheesecake, carrot cake. I actually enjoy baking more than cooking, and the fire department is the best audience because they eat it whether it’s good or bad! It was a great way to hone my recipes. They were my guinea pigs.”
After she retires, she and her 18-year-old daughter, Elle, a senior at Archbishop McCarthy High School in Southwest Ranches, hope to go to a Kenny Chesney concert in Nashville and visit “a lot” of national parks, having already visited the Grand Canyon and Zion.
“Looking back, it’s hard to explain the relationships I have with people and helping them when they’re in need, that it becomes a part of who I am,” Flurry said. “I think, on a obviously different level, I inherited that from my mom and my dad.”
“But I wouldn’t change it for anything. It was a great department and community to work in. The willingness to come to work and see the view was great, especially doing the job we do.”
Estevez spent days mingling with Fraley and other members of the fire department.
Michelle Estevez and Leah Flurry at their retirement party.
“I wish all the residents could visit them and spend time with them, have lunch together,” she said. “It’s wonderful to see their family growing. I’m so proud of them and always rooting for them. I know they’re there to take care of me and the community and I’m grateful for that.”
Lang said he accompanied Flurry to “many, many” fire rescue calls.
“Some of it was funny, some of it was very sad,” he said, “but a lot of it was fun. She made a big difference in 30 years of emergency.”
And that is something to be happy about.
